IMDB Summary : A small-time magician arrives in an enchanted land and is forced to decide if he will be a good man or a great one.
After all the buzz and publicity, Oz The Great & Powerful has finally released. Thankfully, so soon here in my city, and I was able to watch it last weekend. I saw Wizard of Oz couple of months ago, but only a couple of days ago I realized that Oz The Great & Powerful is not the remake of the classic tale, but actually the prequel.
It used the same usage of color, where in Kansas the screen coloring is sephia and when in Oz, it’s colorful. From the start they introduced Oscar/Oz (James Franco), the magician and also a quite womanizer. There’s Zach Braff too as his assistant, but his appearance apparently only a few in the start. I can’t say that I love James Franco as Oz, because his character to me is a bit too arrogant. I thought Oz, though arrogant, he should been more kind-hearted. Even so, he lived Oz’s big pride and conscious of his good looks.
Like Alice in Wonderland (2010), it must’ve been hard to connect to the green screen. So I find James Franco (and a little bit of the other) couldn’t perfectly pictured with the beauty of the Oz world and his confusion of the people in it. Also his connection to the flying monkey did work great. The flying monkey should add a tad more comedy, but wasn’t many times. I did love the character of china little girl, quite add some color. This movie also used the same formula as the classic, where the lead meets a couple of new character on the road and they all accompany the lead to face the enemy.
I find it good for Mila Kunis to play other roles than an easygoing girl in movies (Forgetting Sarah Marshall & Black Swan), but there are some missing points in her act. This is probably a small minor, but there’s a bit of vague reason why she became the way she did in the end. She did live up Theodora’s innocence, compared to her sister.
Thankfully, there’s Michelle Williams as the angelic Glinda. As always, she brings the best on her act. I think her performance was the best thing in the movie, aside from the great visuals. I couldn’t picture her as a good witch before, but she really radiates kindness and sincerity. Oddly she looked quite thinner than before. Possibly her act would less shine if it weren’t for Rachel Weisz as Evanora. Weisz as an antagonist actually excellent as well, couldn’t imagine her as evil, but she did great.
I actually like the morale message of this movie, on how everything is possible if you believe it (and Michelle Williams said the words perfectly). I just wish there’s more depth in some characters and story, and more connection to the viewer. Perhaps I expect too much? Maybe Sam Raimi did his best just to give us a safe entertainment movie. Obviously, it’s too hard to rival The Wizard of Oz who is an all time classic tale. But you can count on this movie to be entertained and wowed in visual.
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